Springfield daily republic. [volume] (Springfield, O. [Ohio]) 1887-1888, 1887-09-24
BUCK BILHAM.
A Story of the Early Days of Illinois, as
Told from Memory by
"Cabriolet."
The Rumble Bee Fight-The Leader Of the
Boys-The Innocent Tramp's Fats-
The Horrible Finale Of
the Story.
BUCK BILHAN.

This story has been told me by somebody.
but so long ago that the characters are
misty in my brain. will attempt to tell il
only as can recall it. and ask the readers
pardon if it lacks coberence and connection.
Six boys were gathered in a Geld in one
of the widest back-wc regions OF south
ern Illinois. They were engaged in fight
ing . nest Of bumble-bees. and the winged
insects were given them little. II any, the
better OF the battle But clubs and brush
brooms at last began to tell against I le
terrible numbers Of the angry honey
makers. and ten minutes after the
first sortie was made. the boys were devodr-
ing the honey in great yellow flakes. while
the liquid. limpid sweetness was dropping
upon their scaut ant rude clothing in gol-
den ropes. The nest had yielded nearly
two quarts of honey. and the allowance to
each whilom warrior was liberal.
You would have passed five Of the boys
without q second look, but the sixth would
have attracted your instant attention. Is
there such . thing as dull devi vitry? As
stOlid brutality? As indecent villiny? As
s"Ws uCuSc wei. IL sIleIS diS.
all these were depicted in Buck BiIhams
in every feature. The eye
to distinguish its parts: the eyebrows
all gone. having been burned away BY q
premature gun discharge: the face deeply
p;ted with smallpox scars: the cheek
bones high and prominent a an Indians.
The expression of that eye would have
Immediately chained you. 1t was absolute
ly unenkindled BY soul. have sometimes
doubted that he was human. His ewes
were deep-set. close together aud absolutely
lacking in expression. They looked the
same when he WAS fisrcely. fendishy
angry as now. when he was lazily eating
honey. He seldom raised his voice above a
monotone and never shouted. He was the
acknowledged leader among the few boys
in that wild region. and bore the stamp of
having been born to lead. He maintained
his position BY his brilliant brutality. Tn.
day before. he had become angry at his
fathers dog and pulled the poor brute's tail
out. Two months before he had pulled
every feather from . chicken that had Of
Tended him. and left the poor fowl running
about the miserable hove as naked as birth
itself. save where the blood covered it,
Hank Bilham. Bucks father, had thr shed
Buck roundly for this act of cruelty. wear
ing out q small sapling on the
boys back. During the beating.
Buck never complained. or cried.
or opened his lips. He stood
with his thumb in his mouth-his favorite
attitude-and his face was dull and vacant
as usual. That night. Hank BiIham's log
barn was burned down. A tramp who had
been seen in the neighborhood was caught
and hung to tree. He died protesting his
innocence. Buck stood by and watched the
awful execution with his thumb in his
mouth. He did not take his eyes off the
swinging body of the murdered and ipno-
cent man. as it swayed IN the gray
gray of the early dawn. He had fired the
barn himself, and yet he saw no
more cause for remorse In the
sight of the man dying for his crime
than in the sight Of the naked pullet When
the body was cut down. Buck went up to
it and fumbled about the head. Then as
he turned to 60 In to his breakfast, he num-
bled TO himself TithOut removing his thumb:
''Ther boys got onter the wrong man.
anyhow. and I'd rather it had bean dad. [
guess IN have to kill dad
After breakfast. Buck Bilham wrapped
something white and gristiey in large cab
bage-lea:. and placed it among tine smoking
embers and cooling Goals of the log barn.
A dog rooted it out and began to gnaw al
it on the grass. Buck found the
brute at it and exclaimed. as he
struck the dog between the eyes:
Let il alone. can't yer. Its the tramp's
ear. I'm burnin' 1t for . charm
Buck Bilham was Is years old and had
the heart of an adult devil.